Biography
Terri Hendrix
“Own Your Own Universe”
When Terri Hendrix walked away from her opera scholarship in college, it was only because she found the classical music path too narrow for her free spirit. But there was just no shaking her love of music. Armed with the Mississippi-John-Hurt-style guitar chops she learned from her mentor, Marion Williamson, in exchange for milking goats on the philanthropist’s Wilory Farm, Hendrix began hauling her own P.A. in the back of her beat-up pick-up to gigs throughout her native Texas. It wasn’t long before she’d evolved from coffeehouse chanteuse to one of the Lone Star State’s most beloved roots artists. Since then, fueled by an energetic stage presence and armed with a sound straddling that fine line dividing folk and country (and blues and pop and jazz and everything else in between), she’s packed listening rooms and theaters from coast to coast and played before thousands at such premiere events as the Newport Folk Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Austin City Limits Music Festival, the Kerrville Folk Festival and the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, D.C..
Determined to “own her own universe” (another lesson she picked up from Williamson), Hendrix self-released her debut album, Two Dollar Shoes, in 1996, and she hasn’t looked back since. Even her 2009 “retro-perspective” anthology, Left Over Alls — Hendrix’s 11th release on her own Wilory Records — was as much of a step toward the future as it was a delightfully eclectic overview of her career to date. Featuring previously unreleased studio recordings (highlighted by “Be Willing,” already hailed by one critic as the most beautiful song Hendrix has ever written), brand new covers (including a storming version of Waterboy Mike Scott’s “Bring ’Em All In”) and freshly re-inspired takes on some of her most beloved fan favorites (including “Hole in My Pocket” and her unofficial theme song, “Wallet”), Left Over Alls is a celebration of more than a decade’s worth of joyful music-making made by — and for — “The Spiritual Kind.”
It’s a celebration that’s been long overdue. Hendrix is one of the most strikingly original singer-songwriters working today, as befits an artist who cites the varied likes of Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Terry and even the British techno-country-blues ensemble Alabama 3 among her biggest influences. Across the eclectic breadth of her catalog, which also includes 2002’s The Ring, 2004’s The Art of Removing Wallpaper, 2005’s Celebrate the Difference (a kid’s record), and 2007’s The Spiritual Kind, Hendrix has covered every genre from folk to country to pop to blues to Celtic to Tex-Mex to jazz to Western swing. Factor in her charming stage presence, top-notch musicianship (guitar, mandolin and harmonica), lyrics as smart and thought-provoking as they are heartfelt and personal and a classically trained but twang-kissed voice that’s as potent as an intimate whisper as when she pushes it to a full-on scat, and it’s no wonder why Harp observed, “Anyone with a heart is hooked.”
Despite having never compromised her freewheeling muse for the sake being easily marketed, Hendrix has earned a sizable grassroots fanbase that spans generations and that has faithfully followed her career well outside the mainstream. Not that her music hasn’t crossed the industry radar, too: In addition to many a glowing review, she’s scored a satellite radio hit (with the punky scream-along “Nerves,” off her kid’s album), co-written a Grammy-winning country instrumental (“Lil’ Jack Slade”) for the Dixie Chicks, and recently won first prize in the lyrics category of the international U.S.A. Songwriting Competition, for her Spiritual Kind song, “If I Had a Daughter.”
In 2009, even as fans old and new continue to discover the treasure trove of music presented on Left Over Alls, Hendrix is already hard at work writing songs for her next album. She’s also working on her first book, a collection of her road journals and popular “Goat Notes” newsletters. And she still finds time to share her insights on both songwriting and “the part that’s not art” with students at her periodic “Life’s a Song” workshops. Hendrix insists she’s “not a business person,” but she’s no fool, either; she’s one of the few artists anywhere who can proudly lay claim to owning all of their own masters, an online store that pays all of her studio costs and tours, and a mailing list spanning three generations of fans.
In a 2007 cover story, Texas Music observed that “Terri Hendrix creates the kind of music that makes you feel good, conceived and delivered with utter sincerity.” But as Left Over Alls and Hendrix’s myriad new projects and forward motion all make clear, even her biggest fans haven’t seen anything yet. Hendrix herself can’t wait to see — and hear — what comes next. “For the past 15 years, my life has revolved around the discovery of music and the joy of music,” she says. “And to get the opportunity to do what I do for my living … how beautiful is that?”
Return to Wilory Records:
http://www.wiloryrecords.com/Wilory_Records/Wilory_Records.html
Return to Terri Hendrix Site:
http://www.terrihendrix.com
Booking: John Laird
The Americana Agency
Phone: 919.489.4824
johnlaird@americanaagency.com
2708 Augusta Drive, Durham, NC 27707
Tour History & Info
Hometown:
Terri was born in San Antonio, TX. She now resides in San Marcos — a small college town located halfway between San Antonio and Austin.
Record Label:
Wilory Records (formerly Tycoon Cowgirl Records). Terri has independently run her own label since 1996.
Publishing:
Terri owns all of her own publishing under the name THM Music. She is affiliated with BMI and her publishing is administered by Bug Music.
Band Members: Terri Hendrix:
Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Mandolin, and harmonica
Also available for residency programs and or workshops
A partial list of places Hendrix has performed includes:
Austin City Limits Music Festival (TX)
Big Tex Music Fest (2002 State Fair of Texas at the Cotton Bowl; bill headlined by the
Dixie Chicks) (TX)
Black Swamp Arts Festival (OH)
Blue Highways Festival (Netherlands)
Bridgeton Folk Festival (NJ)
Celebrate Fairfax Festival (VA)
2004 Folk Alliance Official Showcase in Conference Center (CA)
Four Corners Folk Festival (CO)
Houston International Festival (TX)
Jubilee Folk Festival (CO)
Kerrville Folk Festival (TX)
Larry Joe Taylor's Texas Music Festival (TX)
Little Rock River Festival (AR)
Mountain Stage Newsong Festival (WV)
Newport Folk Festival (RI)
Old Settler's Music Festival (TX)
Philadelphia Folk Festival (PA)
Reston Festival (VA)
Shiner Bocktoberfest (TX)
SXSW Austin Music Awards (TX)
Wildflower Arts Festival (TX)
Little Rock River Festival (AR)
WXPN Songwriter Festival (PA)
Moab Folk Festival (UT)
Independent Music Festival (CO)
Fiesta Arts Festival (TX)
Oyster Ridge Festival (WY)
Tucson Folk Festival (AZ)
Lansing Arts Festival (MI)
Ann Arbor Folk Festival (MI)
Falcon Ridge Folk Festival (NY)
Performance arts centers, concert series, and venues include:
Aerial Theater (TX)
The Ark (MI)
The Birchmere (VA)
The Bottom Line (NY)
Cactus Café (TX)
Carbondale Concerts (CO)
Center for the Arts Amphitheatre (CO)
Concerts at the Crossing (NJ)
County Line (TX)
Creighton Theatre (TX)
CSPS (IA)
801 Concert Series (AR)
Fitzgerald's (IL)
Gruene Hall (TX)
The Iron Horse (MA)
Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (DC)
Keswick Theater (PA)
Kuumbwa Jazz Center (CA)
Makor (NY)
McCabe’s (CA)
McCarter Theater (NJ)
McGonigel's Mucky Duck (TX)
Millsaps College (MI)
Mountain Stage (WV)
Outpost in the Burbs (NJ)
The Palms (CA)
Paramount Theater (TX)
The Point (PA)
Shady Grove (TX)
Texas Summer Nights (TX)
Thrasher Opera House (WI)
Tin Angel (PA)
Waxahatchie Theater (TX)
Ramshead (MD)
McNair Studio (TX)
Crescent Elk Auditorium (CA)
The Egg (NY)
Whitaker Center (PA)
Wolf Penn Creek (TX)
Old Town School of Folk Music (IL)
Common Fence Music (RI)
Workshops taught include:
Life's a Song Workshop and Retreat (TX)
Berklee School of Music (MA)
Swallow Hill (CO)
Mountain Stage Newsong Festival (PA)
Old Number Nine (TX)
Kerrville Folk Festival (TX)
South Plains College (TX)
Life's a Song Workshop and Retreat:
This event is planned and hosted by the duo annually in Port Aransas,
TX. Up to 20 students come from all over the world for a weekend
get away and musical experience. For more information on this retreat
and the duo's credentials to teach others please visit the website.
Workshop includes:
* Songwriting, Composition, and Performance Techniques
* Production and the Costs of Releasing a Record Independently
* E-Commerce and the Digital Revolution
* Maintaining Creativity
* Staying Healthy on the Road
* The Part That Ain't Art - Music Business
Previous Awards Include:
Grammy
Best Country Instrumental Performance: Dixie Chicks, “Lil’ Jack Slade” (co-write) (2003)
In the past decade awards include ...
Austin Music Awards/Austin Chronicle Music Poll
Best Folk Act
Best Singer-Songwriter
Best New Band
Austin American Statesman Austin Music Critic’s Poll
Best New Artist
San Antonio Current Music Awards/Best of San Antonio
Best Folk/Acoustic and Best Country Band
Songwriter of the Year
Female Entertainer of the Year
Female Vocalist of the Year
Instrumentation
Terri Hendrix (guitar, mandolin, piano, harmonica, vocals)
Available in Duo, Trio, Band format
Discography
Christmas on Wilory Farm - Released December 2008
Wilory Records
Left Overalls - Released December 2008
Ten year retrospective CD
Wilory Records
The Spiritual Kind - Released August 28th, 2007, on Wilory Records
Spiritual Kind on the Road - Released August 2007, on Wilory Records. (Limited edition official "bootleg" recording of Terri and Lloyd duo performances from 2002 to 2007)
Celebrate the Difference (Kid's CD) - Released November 2005, on Wilory Records.
Friendswood and Beyond - Released June 2004, on Wilory Records. (Limited edition official "bootleg" recording of Terri and Lloyd duo performances from 1999 to 2004.)
Art Of Removing Wallpaper - Released June 2004, on Wilory Records.
The Ring - Released June 2002, on Wilory Records.
Live in San Marcos - Released April 2001, on Wilory Records. (Recorded live at Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, TX)
Places in Between - Released May 2000, on Wilory Records
Terri Hendrix Live - Released June 1999, on Wilory Records. Produced by Lloyd Maines. (Recorded live at Cibolo Creek Country Club, just north of San Antonio, TX)
Wilory Farm - Released June 1998, on Tycoon Cowgirl Records, presently Wilory Records. Produced by Lloyd Maines.
Two Dollar Shoes - Released October 1996, on Tycoon Cowgirl Records.
Songs Covered By Other Artists
"Lil' Jack Slade" - Top of the World Tour Live (CD & DVD)
The Dixie Chicks (Open Wide/Monument/Columbia, 2003)
"Lil' Jack Slade" - An Evening with the Dixie Chicks: Live from the Kodak Theatre (DVD) - The Dixie Chicks (Open Wide/Monument/Columbia, 2003)
"Lil' Jack Slade" - Home - The Dixie Chicks (Open Wide/Monument/Columbia, 2002)
"Hole in My Pocket" - Runaway Soul - Ruthie Foster (Blue Corn Music, 2002)
Links
| http://www.wiloryrecords.com/Wilory_Records/Wilory_Records.html |
| Terri Hendrix |
| Wilory Records |